Speech and Language Development

Do you wonder what your child's speech and language development should be during elementary school? The following information will provide you with information regarding expected speech and language skills based on your child's grade level.

Kindergarten:

By the end of kindergarten your child should be able to do the following:

Listening

• Follow 1-2 simple directions in a sequence

• Listen to and understand age-appropriate stories read aloud

• Follow a simple conversation

Speaking

• Be understood by most people

• Answer simple "yes/no" questions

• Answer open-ended questions (e.g., "What did you have for lunch today?")

• Retell a story or talk about an event

• Participate appropriately in conversations

• Show interest in and start conversations

First Grade:

By the end of first grade your child should be able to do the following:

Listening

• Remember information

• Respond to instructions

• Follow 2-3 step directions in a sequence

Speaking

• Be easily understood

• Answer more complex "yes/no" questions

• Tell and retell stories and events in a logical order

• Express ideas with a variety of complete sentences

• Use most parts of speech (grammar) correctly

• Ask and respond to "wh" questions (who, what, where, when, why)

• Stay on topic and take turns in conversation

• Give directions

• Start conversations

Second Grade:

By the end of second grade your child should be able to do the following:

Listening

• Follow 3-4 oral directions in a sequence

• Understand direction words (e.g., location, space, and time words)

• Correctly answer questions about a grade-level story

Speaking

• Be easily understood

• Answer more complex "yes/no" questions

• Ask and answer "wh" questions (e.g., who, what, where, when, why)

• Use increasingly complex sentence structures

• Clarify and explain words and ideas

• Give directions with 3-4 steps

• Use oral language to inform, to persuade, and to entertain

• Stay on topic, take turns, and use appropriate eye contact during conversation

• Open and close conversation appropriately

Third Grade:

By the end of third grade your child should be able to do the following:

Listening

• Listen attentively in group situations

• Understand grade-level material

Speaking

• Speak clearly with an appropriate voice

• Ask and respond to questions

• Participate in conversations and group discussions

• Use subject-related vocabulary

• Stay on topic, use appropriate eye contact, and take turns in conversation

• Summarize a story accurately

• Explain what has been learned

Fourth Grade:

By the end of fourth grade your child should be able to do the following:

Listening

• Listen to and understand information presented by others

• Form opinions based on evidence

• Listen for specific purposes

Speaking

• Use words appropriately in conversation

• Use language effectively for a variety of purposes

• Understand some figurative language

• Participate in group discussions

• Give accurate directions to others

• Summarize and restate ideas

• Organize information for clarity

• Use subject area information and vocabulary (e.g., social studies) for learning

• Make effective oral presentations

Fifth Grade:

By the end of fifth grade your child should be able to do the following:

Listening

• Listen and draw conclusions in subject area learning activities

Speaking

• Make planned oral presentations appropriate to the audience

• Maintain eye contact and use gestures, facial expressions, and appropriate voice during group presentations

• Participate in class discussions across subject areas

• Summarize main points

• Report about information gathered in group activities

Articulation Development:

Lists of age of acquisition for sounds in speech and common phonological processes are listed below:

Speech Sounds and Ages of Mastery:

The following are the ages at which speech sounds are mastered by 90% of children.

Adapted from Sanders ( 1972) Norms for Speech Sound Mastery

(Concerns arise when the child passes the age of acquisition and cannot produce the sound or has numerous errors making speech less than 50% understandable in conversation)

Age 3: p, m, w, n, h

Age 4: b, d, k, g, y (as in yes), f

Age 6: t, l, r, ng

Age 7: j (as in jump), ch, sh, th (unvoiced as in think)

Age 8: v, th (voiced as in the) s, z

(zh is mastered later than 8)

Common Phonological Processes (Should not persist beyond age 5):

Final consonant deletion: says “ba” instead of “ball”

Syllable reduction: says “nana” instead of “banana”

Vowelization: says “ca” instead of “car”, “penso” instead of “pencil”

Gliding: says “wed” instead of “red”, says “syide” instead of “slide”

Cluster Reduction: says “boom” instead of “broom”

Doubling: says “ho-ho” for “horse”, says “wa-wa” instead of “water”

Initial Consonant Deletion says “all” instead of “ball”

Backing (not a common process): says “gog” instead of “dog”

Fronting: says “tat” instead of “cat”

Glottal Replacement: say “ba-tub” for “bathtub”

Please refer to the following link for useful information on typical childhood speech/language development and disorders.

www.asha.org/public/speech/development/communicationdevelopment.htm

www.asha.org/public/speech/development/

www.asha.org/public/speech/disorders/ChildSandL/

www.asha.org/slp/schools/prof-consult/norms/